Maryland In The Mix For Rippy

Deaysean Rippy finished with 11 tackles, including four for a loss, and a sack in his team's most recent win.

Deaysean Rippy has helped his Sto-Rox team to an 8-0 record, following a 38-12 win at Shenango on Saturday night. First of all, playing on Saturday night was something exciting for Rippy, in itself.

"That's what I told the guys, this is Saturday night football. I feel like I'm in college. We had an extra day off. We had Monday off to heal our bodies up."

With the 8-0 start, the Vikings are one win away from clinching the first-ever unbeaten regular season in school history. Rippy tries to keep his teammates focused on winning just one game at a time, even though they know they will get a home playoff game and be a high-seed when the Class A WPIAL playoffs begin next week.

"I like to tell them, every time we win, or whatever, just take each step, and each week and each day one step at a time," Rippy said. "Don't look forward, because that was our problem last year. We didn't get too cocky, but we were always looking forward to three or four weeks down the season.

"We got one game left. It's not over. I don't want to look ahead. We just want to focus on this week, and just keep focused on the same routine."

Rippy holds a Maryland offer. Rippy hasn't taken any official visits yet, but is hoping to narrow down his list of five schools some time this week. He rattled off a bunch of schools he has offers from including Arizona State, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Pittsburgh, USC and West Virginia; some of the schools he will be choosing from for his official visits. Maryland defensive line coach Greg Gattuso is recruiting Rippy.

"We have a good relationship, almost like a family bond," Rippy said of his recruitment from Maryland. "We'll see where it goes and take it from there."

Rippy will also be playing in the Semper-Fi All-American Bowl in Phoenix on June 3.